Cases of Understudying and Replacements in Osomatsu-kun
Though both anime adaptations of Osomatsu-kun are known for having many famous voice actors, who were either either already veterans or whose careers took off more with a given series, there are cases where the casting may not always be permanent. This article sums up the instances where characters were understudied due to availability issues of an actor, or even outright recast. In some cases in later years, however, recasting is unavoidable when an actor has passed away and the production committee behind a pachinko game would otherwise want to re-use a popular voice cast. Media prior to 1966 The first two sonosheets produced by Asahi Sonorama had an entirely different cast compared to the anime series of the following year, save for Kyoji Kobayashi as Iyami. Yet when it even came to casting choices between the interval of those first and second records, there wound up being some changes as well. Chibita * Initial actor in Sonosheet #1: Tetsuko Kuroyanagi * Replacement for Sonosheet #2: Toshiko Fujita Neither actor would carry forth to further records, due to the Childrens' Corner/Studio Zero adaptation happening around their creation and having Kazue Tagami appear in the role. The Five Other Matsuno Brothers * Initial actors in Sonosheet #1: Keiko Yamamoto, Tomoko Sayama, Tomono Mitamura * Replacements for Sonosheet #2: Makiko Ito, Hiromi Yamagishi, Kazuko Yoshikawa In the case of these boys, only three actors were used to fill out the cast. It can be presumed that as with the 1966 series, four of the boys may have been dual-cast roles for two of the actors, leaving one to be voiced by the remaining talent. However, there has been no detailed analysis or confirmation as to who may have voiced which exact boy. The only name of either group that could be seen to have carried forth to the first anime adaptation would wind up being Keiko Yamamoto, who would voice Karamatsu and Choromatsu (and other boys as needed; see below section). 1966 series Dayon The character was initially voiced by Takuzo Kamiyama in the first episode's skit, but this quickly did not stick; he was voiced by Hiroshi Otake for the remainder of the series. It may have been that Kamiyama was a placeholder voice in the first place, as he was also responsible for voicing Dekapan. However, Kamiyama would get another chance to play Dayon in the 1988 color adaptation (see its section below) Dekapan Takuzo Kamiyama voiced Dekapan for the first 25 episodes that were done during the series' production run under Childrens' Corner. After the decision to change up the production staff and studio, Kamiyama was one of the actors that were recast or left for whatever reasons. His replacement was Setsuo Wakui, who took over the role immediately from episode 26 to the end of the series. Chibita Chibita was consistently voiced by Kazue Tagami for the first 25 episodes, but he too would be recast following the Childrens' Corner to Studio Zero switchover in production. Tagami's initial replacement was Yoko Mizugaki, who consistently voiced Chibita from episodes 26 to 38, but then only sporadically afterwards (in 41, 43, and 50). His actress for 39 and all other remaining episodes was Kazuko Sawada, who had previously understudied as Totoko (see below). Totoko *'Usual voice': Fuyumi Shiraishi *'Understudy': Kazuko Sawada (episodes 4, 27-32) While Shiraishi was consistent for most of the series, Totoko's brief line in 4 and a short batch of the Studio Zero episodes had Kazuko Sawada in the role, performing a much squeakier and higher voice for the character. It is possible that Shiraishi was either unavailable or initially recast for the Studio Zero portion of the series, but returned in short time while other first-cast choices (Dekapan, Matsuyo, Matsuzo, Chibita) hadn't. Matsuyo Mitsuko Aso was the initial actress for Matsuyo until the change in production after episode 25, in which all remaining appearances of the character had Takako Kondo cast in the role. Matsuzo The switch in voice actors, however, wasn't as smooth for Matsuzo when it came to the changes in production. While he was voiced by Joji Yanami for the first 25 episodes, his initial replacement and possible placeholder for a regular actor was none other than Kyoji Kobayashi (Iyami), who had taken over the role for episodes 26 and 27. Yasuaki Suzuki became the official replacement actor for all episodes following those two. Karamatsu *'Usual voice': Keiko Yamamoto (credited as "Emiko Suzuki") *'Understudy': Fuyumi Shiraishi Although Karamatsu and Choromatsu were usually a dual role, there were moments in which Yamamoto was not present for a recording session and Shiraishi was the given fill-in for Karamatsu, giving him a somewhat higher voice than usual. Ichimatsu and Todomatsu *'Usual voice': Haruko Kitahama *'Understudies': Keiko Yamamoto, Mari Kitagawa Yamamoto would sometimes cover for one boy or both if Kitahama was not around (as they were a dual-cast role to start). In some later ending credits, Kitagawa's name can be seen to be in the billing under the sextuplets' actresses, while Kitahama's name was absent from the group. Choromatsu * Usual voice: Keiko Yamamoto * Understudy: Haruko Kitahama (a few of his later lines in the skit "Osomatsu-kun Gets Adopted") For whatever reason, Kitahama had filled in for Yamamoto as Choromatsu in this episode, as the voice that can be heard is clearly hers (starting in the middle of the skit when Choromatsu runs away from home). Kitahama can sometimes be mistaken to be the regular actress as it is, due to the way that the ending credits had arranged the boys' names along with the actresses; Kitahama's name was usually put higher up in the listing. This misprint also exists in the third -kun sonosheet. 1988 series The cast mainly remained consistent, save for the case of Dayon for a few episodes as well as a situation involving understudies for the otherwise-interchangeable sextuplets. Although the voices were meant to be a way for the six to be differentiated, this wound up becoming a bit complicated due to various factors, though it ultimately made for no big difference unless an audience member could catch on. It is worth it to note that in recording sessions involving the sextuplets, the actresses stood in a specific order and could perform their lines in said order, unless the recording scripts and dialogue specifically called for something different: Yo Inoue would come first, followed by Rica Matsumoto, Megumi Hayashibara, Mari Mashiba, and Naoko Matsui (if available). The fact that there were cases of understudying and occasional interchangeability with voice actors in this version was paid nod to once in Daisuke Ono and Hiroshi Kamiya's "Dear Girl Stories", as part of the justification for the new casting in -san, which is the closest any official outlet has came to acknowledging this matter (as Pierrot's official site simplifies the matter by only listing Mari Yokoo as Ichimatsu, despite the actual complex reality of his casting situation). Dayon *'Usual voice': Takuzo Kamiyama (1-79, 84-86) *'Understudy': Kenichi Ogata (episodes 80-83) For whatever reasons, Kamiyama was absent for a brief time towards the end of the 1988 series' run. His role became substituted by Kenichi Ogata, who had previously played the Shinigami Salesman and other bit parts. As a result, Kamiyama's other role of Kemunpas also experienced a temporary recasting with Ogata in charge as well. Ichimatsu *'Initial default voice, occasional understudy in later term': Megumi Hayashibara (majority of lines in 1, 3, a single line in 5, early and final lines in 6, 7, early lines in 8, 9, early lines in 10, 12, most lines in 14, second and third lines in 16, 20, 23, 25, first line in 40, 46, 62, 67, 78, 82, 84. Her lines from 3 and 78 are also heard in 85's recap sequences) *'First understudy': Mari Mashiba (second line in 1, 2, screaming in the karashi sequence in 3, a single line in 5, a single line in 6, final line in 16, 24, 28, second line in 40) *'Second understudy': Naoko Matsui (third line in 1, a single line in 14, 36, 50, 60, 71, 83) *'Third understudy': Rica Matsumoto (last line in 8, later lines in 10, 13, 15, first line in 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 26, 39, 59) *'Default voice from middle to late term': Mari Yokoo (32, 35, 48, 49, 61, 68, 81, 86) *credited but not heard in episodes 30, 42, and 45* This character is a rather infamous and special case, as he was initially Megumi Hayashibara's other sextuplet role but was immediately and quickly understudied by anyone possible out of the group, having had no real set actress. Even when Mari Yokoo was cast as the character and credits began to show her name billed as him, he remained a case of being understudied several times. There are instances where the character may be split between two actresses earlier on, when he had more lines in the show, and even rare instances where there were three handling dialogue. It was near-impossible to hear Hayashibara taking on both Todomatsu and Ichimatsu in the exact same scene (hence the need for back-up actresses) in early episodes, but episode 20 does provide a case in which she voices both and can be heard to not differentiate their lines at all, making it appear initially as if only one boy speaks. The fantasy sequence in which both these particular boys are suffering from Chibita's mosquitoes can only be heard to have one voice in their shot as well. Choromatsu *'Usual voice': Rica Matsumoto *'Understudy': Megumi Hayashibara (18, 21, a single line in 26, a single line in 50) In instances where the voice director would have Matsumoto decided as the default actress for Ichimatsu in a scene, or in cases where she was otherwise busy with another character (such as the baby dinosaur), Choromatsu would suddenly wind up with a different voice. This substitution would sometimes only be for a single line, but in some specific early cases, his only lines in an episode would be provided by Hayashibara. Jyushimatsu *'Usual voice': Naoko Matsui *'First understudy': Megumi Hayashibara (a scream in 3, only line in 4, first line in 68) *'Second understudy': Mari Mashiba (7, last line in 68) *'Third, most common understudy': Rica Matsumoto (a line in 10, a line in 19, 23, 24, 50, 60, second line in 68, 81) If Naoko Matsui was unavailable for a scene due to Totoko not being required to be present, or the actress otherwise being busy or being made to conserve her voice for Totoko within the same scene and timespan, this character would also wind up sounding very different. In most of these cases, Jyushimatsu can blend in well due to all the boys looking the same, but a specific understudied moment in 24 is especially obvious with Matsumoto's deeper voice heard when the character name-drops himself. Karamatsu *'Usual voice': Mari Mashiba *'First understudy': Naoko Matsui (a scream in 3, 27, 46) *'Second understudy': Rica Matsumoto (22, a single line in 23, a single line in 51, 84) *'Third understudy': Megumi Hayashibara (two lines in 23, a line in 26, two lines in 39) Although Mari Mashiba was mainly present as Karamatsu, there would come moments where Mashiba would either be busy as Hatabo or have already been chosen to go ahead and voice another sextuplet in the lineup for a scene (such as with 46). Since Mashiba would be unable to voice two roles at once, although she would come close to such with early moments in doubling as Karamatsu and Ichimatsu, her usual sextuplet would wind up handed over to any other available actress. This became particularly vital in episode 84 where Matsumoto pulled double-duty as Karamatsu and Choromatsu (it helping that they didn't have to interact), while Mashiba was able to only focus on being Hatabo. Todomatsu *'Usual voice': Megumi Hayashibara *'Understudy': Mari Mashiba (31, 46) Although Hayashibara was mostly consistent in voicing her given sextuplet, this was shaken up a bit in episode 31 when she was absent for a line that Todomatsu had to speak, and then in 46 when she had already gone ahead to fill in as Ichimatsu in a sequence. As Mashiba came next after her in the recording group, Todomatsu's lines and moments wound up covered by that actress (and thus necessitated Karamatsu's line to be covered by Matsui in the case of episode 46). Later -kun media (2004-present) These forms of media, pachinko and pachislot games specifically, tended to use the 1988 voice cast except in the below instances where replacements were required for deceased actors. Osomatsu * First replacement: Chihiro Kusaka (Pachislot Osomatsu-kun, 2005. Her Production Baobab bio also suggests she may have been the uncredited actress behind Daiichi's 2004 CR Osomatsu-kun, as she is credited for both "pachinko" and "pachislot" games, thus she may have also doubled as the other five in that version). * Second replacement: Yui Shoji (CR Osomatsu-kun, ''2012 SanThree version. Shoji played the other five as well) * '''Current replacement': Unknown (Pachislot Osomatsu-kun, 2017 version). ''Though it was initially assumed to be Kusaka reprising the role, the identity of the voice actor has been left unconfirmed by any social media or production announcements. Dayon * '''First replacement': Chafurin (CR Osomatsu-kun, 2012 SanThree version) * Current replacement: Masaya Takatsuka (Pachislot Osomatsu-kun, 2017 version) Matsuzo * Replacement: Chafurin (CR Osomatsu-kun, 2012 SanThree version) Dekapan * Replacement: Takashi Nagasako (Pachislot Osomatsu-kun, 2017 version) = Category:Extras